Tourists have abandoned Cyprus. This is what it’s like to visit now
Tourists have abandoned Cyprus. This is what it’s like to visit now
Robert JackmanMon, May 25, 2026 at 5:00 AM UTC
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A record-breaking 4.5 million tourists visited Cyprus in 2025, but this year the picture is starkly different - Michael Kyprianou
It takes a lot to put British sun-seekers off a good fly-and-flop. But an Iranian-backed drone attack and the prospect of a Mediterranean paradise being dragged into one of the least predictable wars in decades? That sort of thing does tend to put a dent in the tourism numbers – as Cyprus shows.
This time last year, the sun-soaked holiday spot was pushing new records for tourism: in 2025, some 4.5 million holidaymakers ventured to the island, around one third of them coming from Britain. This year, the picture is starkly different, with whispers that visitors could be down by at least 30 per cent.
On the ground, hoteliers are putting on a brave face. “Reservations have been rising since April, but it’s still below the level that we would have liked for the season,” says Thanos Michaelides, president of the Cyprus Hotel Association, as we sit in the grounds of the five-star Annabelle Hotel in Paphos. A cursory glance around the airy lobby makes his point for him.
Thanos Michaelides, president of the Cyprus Hotel Association, says that bookings are below where they should be - Michael Kyprianou
According to Michaelides, Paphos is currently wrestling with something of a lag effect. Those phantom tourists who should be making up the difference in the numbers are the ones who cancelled their plans earlier this year when the unexpected presence of a Hezbollah drone on March 1 catapulted the island into the headlines.
It’s a shame, he sighs, given that none of the fears about disruption have come to pass. Not only has the island remained utterly unscathed by the conflict – with that stray drone now looking like an outlier in the bigger picture – but there has been none of the widespread disruption that some predicted. The planes have been steadily arriving since mid-March, just with fewer tourists than usual.
The story is the same across Paphos. “I think we’ve seen bookings drop by around 50 per cent,” laments Tom Antoniou, who sells all-inclusive leisure cruise trips around Paphos harbour. If that wasn’t bad enough, the business is already dealing with a significant headache on its biggest overheads: fuel and food costs are both higher than this time last season.
Restaurants in Paphos have been left struggling to fill tables - Michael KyprianouCyprus to yourself
As a visitor, of course, it’s not hard to see some benefits. For a start, you can say goodbye to those pesky sunbed wars: walking along Alykes Beach on a blisteringly hot Thursday in May, it’s not hard to find empty loungers. What would usually be one of the most oversubscribed beaches in Paphos now feels like a hidden gem.
On the spacious pavements around the old port, the roaming waiters are working harder than ever to lure passing tourists into their establishments. “Why not come in and just have a beer?” pleads one as I pass. Though it’s the sight of a lonely ice cream van that eventually twigs my British sensibilities: on a day like this back home, it would have sold out hours ago.
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Outside super-touristy Paphos, the situation is even starker. At my hotel, the exceptional Cap St Georges, which sits some 10 miles north of the main beaches, the place seems deserted, with a handful of spoiled-rotten visitors making the most of what might as well be a private pool. Even for a resort that trades on exclusivity, it feels like an unexpected turn.
Visitors to Cyprus could be down by at least 30 per cent year-on-year - Michael Kyprianou
While Paphos on the whole feels more relaxed, you sense a certain tetchiness among some locals. “Cyprus is definitely safer than bloody London right now,” snarls one barman when I enquire how business has been going. Like others, he also blames the media for stoking fears (something that always makes for an awkward conversation).
Flight fears
Why exactly are the tourists staying away? “I think it’s a case of not wanting too much fuss, rather than fear per se,” says Andrew Achilleous, a Cypriot-heritage Londoner who has flown to Paphos for a family reunion. The idea of the island being dragged into the war is marginal; the risk of some kind of ongoing travel disruption less so. That was the big concern for his sister, who just jetted in from the US and had been fretting about return flights.
Given Cyprus’s geography, the fear isn’t unreasonable. Sitting around 40 miles off the coast of Turkey, the island is hardly blessed with abundant escape routes should the airports have to close (as Paphos did briefly in March). No one wants to end up in the same situation as the unlucky Westerners who had to pay over the odds to get out of the Middle East earlier this year.
Our writer speaking with Andrew Achilleos (L), who travelled to Cyprus for a family reunion - Michael Kyprianou
At one of the desolate pubs, I speak to Paul and Jo Moss, two holidaymakers from Bolton, Greater Manchester. Like others, they’d originally booked their holiday last year, when the idea of Iranian drones would have seemed implausible. When the news of the drone strike broke, they initially asked about cancelling their trip, only to find they’d be lumbered with 50 per cent of the cost.
On balance, they decided to go through with the holiday, though not without a careful assessment of the situation. “Our son is getting married back home next month, so we needed to be sure we’d be able to get back without any chaos,” says Jo, looking like a woman who is hoping she hasn’t just jinxed herself.
As for where it leaves Cyprus in the meantime, you can kiss goodbye to breaking that tourism record. The Cypriot government continues to sound sanguine about the situation, echoing the hope of the hotel bosses that things will pick up before the end of the summer.
If you do make the trip, you can at least be certain that the sun will be shining and the resorts will be happy to see you. As for your return flight, just keep your fingers crossed. Who knows, you may even get a pleasant surprise on that front: not only did my Ryanair flights take off on time, but there were lots of spare seats to spread out in. How many fly-and-flop holidays end like that?
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Source: “AOL Breaking”
